


Senses

by spurious



Category: Arashi (Band)
Genre: Cuddling and Snuggling, Hospitals, M/M, Prompt Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-02-23
Updated: 2012-02-23
Packaged: 2017-10-31 15:06:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 803
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/345509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spurious/pseuds/spurious
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>The worst thing about the hospital is the smell.</i>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	Senses

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the rainbowfilling prompt "disinfectant."

The worst thing about the hospital is the smell. It settles in Aiba's nostrils, clinging to his clothes long after he's gone. He washes everything as soon as he gets home, but it still stays for weeks afterward. Aiba's complained about it before, called the others over in the green room to smell his clothes, and they tell him it's all in his head, the chemical scent that he can't seem to get away from just a product of his own imagination.

This time is the same. He can't eat any of the mediocre hospital food because the smell's tainted everything. When his mother visits, he manages to force down some rice in front of her, holding his breath and trying to suppress his gag reflex.

He's lying in bed, flipping through the channels on the wall-mounted TV, when Jun comes in. He's bundled up, not because of the weather but in an attempt to obscure his identity. Aiba may have a private room on a little-used floor in the most discreet, upscale hospital in Tokyo, but it's always better to be cautious. Jun drops his bag on the plush sofa, unwinding the scarf from his neck and pulling off his hat and coat before rushing to envelop Aiba in the most careful of hugs. Aiba breathes in Jun's scent, comforting and familiar and not yet taken over by the clinical one of the hospital.

"Masaki," Jun says to Aiba's hair, "how do you feel?"

"Okay," Aiba says. "I think they might let me out today."

"Don't tell them you're feeling better if you're not, okay?" Jun admonishes. He squeezes Aiba's shoulders and starts to pull away, but Aiba fists his hands in the soft fabric of Jun's jacket, trying to take in as much of him as he can. Jun's smell makes Aiba feel safe: it reminds him of long days spent in television studios, falling asleep against Jun's shoulder while he reads a book; of the frenzied high of concerts, sweating and singing under bright lights; of sharing a bed in Aiba's hotel room because he's too excited to fall asleep alone, a tangle of limbs and warmth as Jun strokes his hair and tells him to just go to sleep already.

They stay frozen in the hug for a long moment until Jun finally speaks, sounding a mix of fond and bewildered.

"Are you...smelling me?" he says. Aiba giggles and nods, refusing to let go. Jun doesn't try to pull away, though, even though he's bent at an awkward angle and he must be getting a bit uncomfortable now. "Why?"

"Because you don't smell like hospital," Aiba says simply, "you smell like Matsujun."

Jun huffs a laugh through Aiba's hair, tickling his scalp.

"You really need to let me go, though," Jun says. "My leg is falling asleep."

Aiba sighs and releases him. "How long can you stay?" he asks, trying to keep his tone neutral. He doesn't want to make Jun stay when he should be doing something else, but he knows if Jun thinks Aiba needs the company, he'll stay as long as he possibly can. And Aiba _does_ need the company, but he doesn't want to cause more trouble for the others than he already has.

Jun glances at his watch as he pulls a chair up by the bed. "I've got about an hour before I need to leave for filming. I got the director to shuffle around the shooting order and give me some more time."

Aiba grins. "Will you play a game with me, then? There's a wii in here and I haven't been able to convince any of the nurses to play me in Mario Kart."

Jun laughs, shaking his head. "You need to rest!" When Aiba starts to pout, Jun stands up, muttering to himself about how he only knows one way to calm Aiba down. He toes off his shoes, shucks off his jacket so he's just in his jeans and t-shirt, and then he's climbing into the hospital bed.

Aiba scoots over to give him room, sighing happily as they curl into a comfortable position. He can't smell the hospital anymore, his senses full of Jun's presence, and it's like all the tension that's been coiled in Aiba's body since he'd been admitted is draining out of him, leaving him warm and happy and relaxed.

Jun kisses Aiba's forehead and talks to him in a low, soothing voice about the book he's been reading lately, relaying the story until Aiba falls asleep.

When he wakes up later, it's dark outside and he's alone in the bed, but it still smells like Jun, somehow; Aiba realizes that he's got Jun's scarf wrapped around his neck, like a shield against the hospital. He takes a deep breath in and feels stronger.


End file.
